Monday, November 25, 1996
By Rob Kariakin
Daily Bruin Contributor
A different Cade McNown sat in the UCLA locker room after
Saturday’s victory over USC than the one who sat in the same spot
three weeks before.
To be sure, both are 6-foot-1-inch, 215-pound starting Bruin
quarterbacks, but there was a tangible difference between the two.
It’s hard to say exactly what that difference is. What caused it,
however, is another matter.
Winning. Not only the act itself, but how.
Three weeks ago, the Bruins lost to Stanford at the Rose Bowl by
one point, 21-20, when the Cardinal kicked a go-ahead extra point
with 58 seconds left.
With a chance to win the game, and needing only to get within
field goal range to do so, the UCLA offense managed a net gain of
only two yards before McNown’s last-second desperation heave was
intercepted with no time remaining.
While there was plenty of blame to go around (poor clock
management, stupid penalties, receivers who didn’t get open), there
was plenty more heaped on McNown’s sophomore shoulders.
With all that, plus the knowledge that the loss helped knock the
Bruins from bowl contention, imagine what it must have felt like to
rally the team from an even greater hole on Saturday against their
arch rivals.
This time, down by two touchdowns with under four-and-a-half
minutes to play, McNown drove his team down the field not once but
twice, tying the game and sending it into overtime, giving the
Bruins a chance to win. Aided by diving former walk-ons and
sure-handed tight ends, McNown threw for 81 yards on those two
drives and ran for five more, accounting for all but 12 yards of
the offense.
"He showed me a lot of poise," UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said.
"He’s obviously gained experience over the course of the year and
when it got time to have to get the job done, he did it. And you
know the old cliche  players make plays. And some of our
players made some plays when they had to make them today."
For his part, McNown was a play-making machine. His stats for
the game: 356 yards and one TD passing, two TDs rushing and one
interception.
And one new attitude.
"Everything from past experience (helped the final drives),"
McNown said. "We didn’t worry about ‘don’t do this and don’t do
this.’ We just worried about this game  ‘Let’s just take care
of it now.’
"I just don’t think any guy on this team didn’t believe we could
win this game."
Is that the difference between now and three weeks ago, a
team-wide belief in the ability to win at any time?
Who knows? But whatever it is, McNown’s smile says he likes
it.
SUSIE MING HWA CHU/Daily Bruin
Cade McNown, top, dives into the endzone in the second quarter
for UCLA’s first touchdown. The three-yard scramble, McNown’s first
of two touchdown runs for the day, cut the USC lead to 17-7. Below,
Bob Toledo congratulates McNown on his run.